Guide to the Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize is regarded as one of the highest awards in several fields, recognizing excellence in the sciences, literature, and even efforts to promote peace. Due to the prestige of the award, Nobel Prize winners are usually treated with the utmost respect. How did the Nobel Prize get started? It began with the man whom the awards are named after.

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish scientist who invented the dynamite but he actually held more than 350 different patents. In 1895, he began to lay the foundations of the Nobel Prize. When Alfred Nobel died in 1896, his will was partly incomplete so it generated a lot of public attention because of his considerable wealth. After several years of criticism and negotiations, the Nobel foundation was finally established by the Norwegian parliament. Members of the Prize-awarding committee were elected on June 11th 1897.

In 1901, the awards were given to notable researchers and scientists in the field of physics, chemistry, psychology, medicine, literature, and peace. In 1969, economics was introduced to the categories of Nobel Prizes. Some other categories like public health, engineering, biology, interdisciplinary research were introduced in 1991.

Nobel Prize winner nominations start in September of every year. The Nobel Prize-awarding committee sends invitation letters to individuals that qualify, including university chancellors, members of government, members of organizations, and others. The deadline for submitting the letters is February 1st of every year. In the month of February and March, the nomination committee short lists the candidates based on their work and prepare a list of candidates. From the period of March to August, the short listed candidates are reviewed by the permanent advisers of the Nobel committee so they can give their recommendations. In October, the Nobel Laureates are chosen and announced.

The Nobel Prize event is conducted on 10th December where the Nobel Laureate receives the Nobel Prize in the form of a gold medal, a diploma, and prize amount for the specific field. The event is conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, the birthplace of Alfred Nobel. The important part of the Nobel Prize event is the presentation of Nobel lectures by the Nobel Laureates. The ceremony is followed by a banquet in the city hall that can hold around 1,300 people.

More than one hundred years after it was first awarded, the vision of Alfred Nobel has spurred immeasurable benefits to the human race. From 1901, many Nobel Prize winners have contributed to make the world a better place. Mother Teresa, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Winston Churchill are some of the more illustrious winners, but without a doubt, all Nobel winners are important in their own ways.

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